Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men revision cards

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  • Created by: zoolouise
  • Created on: 19-05-14 17:18

Ice burg paragraphs

Topic sentence

Evidence

Explanation

Link back to the question

Alternative interpretation

Keep digging

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Poetic Devices

Metaphor - comparing two things that are unlike

Oxymoron - two opposite terms placed next to eachother for effect

Hyperbole - deliberate use of exaggeration

Imagery - creating a picture using words

Personification - giving an object human traits

Repitition - repeating words, phrases, lines or stanzas

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

Loneliness

"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world." - George

"I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" - Crooks

"I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely." - Curley's wife

"Ain't many guys travel around together" - Slim

"A guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ast no questions" - Candy

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

American Dream

"i remember about the rabbits, George" - Lennie

"We gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house" - George

"I coulda made something of myself" - Curley's wife

"Coulda been in the movies" - Curley's wife

"I ain't so crippled I can't work like a son-of-a-***** if I want to" - Crooks

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

Racism/Prejudice/Discrimination/Sexism/Women

"I aint wanted in the bunk house, you aint wanted in my room" - Crooks

"Guys don't come into a coloured mans room very much" - Crooks

"She got the eye" - Candy

"She's a ********* all set on trigger."

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Themes in Of Mice and Men

Violence

"I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny" - Curley's wife

"You gonna give me that mouse or do I have to sock you" - George

"I wasn't kicked in the head by no horse, was I, George?" - Lennie

"Shoot him right in the back of the head" - Carlson about Candy's dog

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Of Mice and Men

Set in the 1930's of the time of The Great Depression. It's 3rd person meaning it's unbiased. Migrants headed to California. Racism was acceptable in those times and women weren't important too. 

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Characters

Curley's wife - young, flirtacious, pretty, no name meaning she's Curley's possession, doesn't like Curley, dreamed to be a movie star, lonely, naive

Curley - little and hates big guys, boss's son, ex-fighter, has a glove with vaseline, married but visits brothels

George - good friends, father figure, small but quick whilted, honest with people he trusts

Lennie - trouble in Weed, compared to animal/child, strong, forgetful, George is his father figure, american dream

Carlson - dominant, insensitive, shoots Candy's dog

Candy - has an old dog, smelly, used to be a good sheep god, furious when Lennie kills Curley's wife as dream is over, is a swamper, friends with George and Lennie and shares dream, lost his hand in an accident, might loose his job to old age, wants to settle down

Crooks - called a ******, ictem, segregation, isolation, crooked back, lonely, stable buck, lives in harness room in barn, proud, possessions

Slim - quiet dignity, no enemies, natural leader, understanding, respected

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Poetry analysis

Use short but effective quotes, always explain the effect on the reader, explain how the topic is portrayed to link back to the question, think of what the poem intended to do and how it wants to make you feel, make sure the effect it has on you comes at the end as a conclusion, compare the two poems (write about the first one first, then the second and then compare)

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Word Bank

Inferior - lower rank, status or quality

Subservient - less imortant

Emphasize - special importance or value

Derogatory - expressive of low opinion

Pugnacious - eager or quick to argue

Segregation - seperation from others

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Contex

John Steinbeck - born in California to a weathy family but was interested in the lives of farm labourers. He worked alongside them and used his experiances to write several novels about their lives. 

Wall Street Crash - 29th October 1929. Led to depression in America, and across the world. Mass shortage of money (hyperinflation), food and work. Many people became unemployed, banks went bust meaning people lost any savings they had. Many people made homeless.

Migrant Farmers - Wall Street Crash meant that no one had any money, farmers also suffered because of a series of droughts - led to dried up land and failed harvests. Farmers couldn't pay their loans back to the bank and so had to sell their land and move away. Lots of the migrant farmers headed to California hoping there would be spare land there. However they were turned away because locals feared they would be over run. With no where to go many migrants stayed in hude camps in the Californian valleys and tried to find work as casual farmhands.

Ranch Hands - (Like Lennie and George) Low pay, but they were fed. Felt lucky to have work, and were grateful for the bunkhouses where they could sleep.

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Plot - chapter 1

Overview: George and Lennie are forced to flee their last job, the novel starts with them preparing to arrive at the ranch to work. Just four days later the novel ends in tragedy, after Lennie makes yet another serious mistake. Told in the third person, giving us an unbiased clear view of the entire situation.

Chapter One - Night before starting new jobs as ranch hands, George and Lennie camp beside a "narrow pool". George finds Lennie stroking a dead mouse in his pocket, he then complains that his life could be much simpler if he didn't have to care for Lennie all the time. "When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace." We find out they lost their last job in Weed over Lennie innocently trying to feel a girls dress, but the girl got the wrong impression. "Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress - jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse - Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress?" The chapter ends with them disscussing their dream, which shows just how much they depend on each other and how strong their friendship is. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the lonelist guys in the world... They ain't got nothing to look ahead to... With us it ain't like that. We got a future."

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Plot - chapter 2 and 3

Chapter Two - George and Lennie arrive at the ranch and are shown around by Old Candy, the meet with the boss, and later his son Curly. George warns Lennie to stay away from Curly as he has a bad feeling about him. "Look, Lennie. You try keep away from him, well you? Don't never speak to him." Curly wife, pretty and flirtatious introduces herself to them, and they meet fellow workers, Slim and Carlson.

Chapter Three - George tells Slim why him and Lennie travel together and what happened in Weed. They all discuss Candy's ancient dog, which Carlson shoots as an 'act of kindness'. "Look, Candy. This ol' dog jus' suffers hisself all the time. If you was to him out and shoot him right in the back of the head-", "Tell you what. I'll shoot him for you." George tells Candy about his and Lennie's dream, Candy is eager to join them and has money stashed away and so can make the dream happen quickly. "S'pose I went in with you guys. Tha's three hunderd an' fifty bucks I'd put in."  Curly provokes Lennie into a fight, "Curly was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie with his left, then smashed down his nose with a right." , Lennie crushes Curlys hand. He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw". All the men agree to say nothing, Slim forces Curly to stay silent. I think you got your han' caught in a machine. If you don't tell nobody what happened, we ain't going to."

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Plot - chapter 4 and 5

Chapter Four - Most of the men on the ranch go out, leaving Lennie behind. He finds Crooks alone in his room. They talk about land, but Crooks refuses to believe that they are going to do what he has seen many others try and fail to do. When Candy joins them however he starts to believe and whats to get involved. "If you... guys would want a hand to work for nothing - just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand." Curly's wife comes in and an arguement starts after she threatens Crooks."'Listen, ******.' She said. 'You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?'" Crooks realises he can't ever be a part of George and Lennie's dream.

Chapter Five - Lennie accidently kills the puppy Slim gave him by petting it too hard. He's sad."Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard." Curly's wife comes in and starts talking to Lennie, She allows him too stroke her soft hair ("Lennies big fingers fell to stroking her hair"), but as with the puppy, Lennie strokes to hard and she starts to panic.  Lennie accidently kills her too and runs away to hide like George told him too previously. "And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck." Candy finds the body and tells George, they tell the other ranch workers. Curly wants revenge. "I'm gonna shoot the guts outta that big ******* myself, even if I only got one hand."

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Plot - chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Lennie hides in the brush where George told him too. He thinks about the rabbits, and the land he and George dream of getting. He remembers his Aunt Clara, and what she told him about George. "I tried, Aunt Clara ma'am. I tried and tried. I couldn' help it." (and - "'I tol' you an' tol' you,' she said. 'I tol' you, Min' George because he's such a nice fella an' good to you'") George finds Lennie and reiterates their shares dream exactly like he did in the first chapter. He makes Lennie turn away from him and then shoots him with Calson's gun. "The crash of the shot rolled up the kills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred... and he lay without quivering." The other men find him and assume he shot Lennie in self defence. Only Slim knows the truth, and tells George he understands, and that it was the right thing to do. "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda."

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Plot summary

Plot Summary

All the actions is concentrated into a few days making it much more dramatic. It is one event after another, and it feels almost inevitable that everything will go wrong for George and Lennie. We sense that there will be no other way out for Lennie. George arrive at the ranch in the morning, early in the day, when possibilities are open; Lennie dies as the sun is setting. Do you think this suggests that Lennie's death was 'right'? The sun sets when a day is complete, so does Lennie die when his life is 'complete'?

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